Rasmus Hojgaard secures Ryder Cup spot after 'most stressful round of life'

Rasmus Hojgaard leapfrogged Shane Lowry to claim the last automatic spot on the European team for next month’s Ryder Cup after it was mission accomplished for the Dane at the end of the “most stressful round of my career”.

The 24-year-old needed to finish in a two-way tie for 29th in better in the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo at The Belfry - the final event at the end of a year-long qualifying battle.

Rasmus Hojgaard in action during day four of the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo at The Belfry in Sutton Coldfield | Andrew Redington/Getty Images

He was cruising along after making three birdies in a row from the second hole in the final round at the Sutton Coldfield venue before finding himself under a bit more pressure than he would have liked heading down the closing stretch.

After missing the green at the iconic tenth hole with his second shot and taking a bogey there and then dropping another shot at the par-3 12th, Hojgaard had dropped to joint-18th and would have been in a share of 28th if there had been further spillage.

However, a birdie at the long 15th steadied the ship and it was job done after signing off with three pars - he described his tee shot at the daunting 18th as “his best drive of the week” - on the Brabazon Course for a closing 71 and an eight-under total, which saw him finish the $3.5 million event in a tie for 13th.

“Today was the most stressful round I've had in my career so far, especially knowing what's at stake,” admitted Hojgaard, who was congratulated by both European captain Luke Donald and Thomas Bjorn, one of his vice captains, in separate phone calls after signing for his card.

“I got off to a good start and I was battling some thoughts out there, which is normal. I managed to put myself under pressure after making a couple of bogeys down the back nine. I managed to get in the clubhouse with a birdie coming in and it feels great to be here now.”

Hojgaard, who was inside the ropes when his twin brother Nicolai made his Ryder Cup debut in Rome two years ago, joined Rory McIlroy, Bob MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and Tyrrell Hatton in securing an automatic spot for Bethpage Black.

The smile on Rasmus Hojgaard’s face says it all after securing automatic qualification for next month’s Ryder Cup in New York | Luke Walker/Getty Images

“I haven't been in contention that much this year and it felt like that today,” he added. “I'm happy that I was able to pull myself out of that little hole I was digging on the back nine and make a birdie coming in. It showed that I was able to hit a few good shots coming in.”

Even though he’d started the week as the only player who could climb into an automatic spot, Hojgaard said he hadn’t been sure he would get one of Donald’s six picks if he came up short in the Midlands.

‘All the thoughts were creeping in out there’

“To be honest, all the thoughts were creeping in out there,” he said. “It felt like if I weren't to do it this time, I would feel very bad for myself. But it's going to be amazing. I can't really believe it's happening now. It's pretty cool.”

Hojgaard smiled when he was asked if it was ironic that he felt this had been the most stressful week of his career when an even bigger one is now looming on Long Island.

“That's a nice stress. It's the stress you want, isn't it? I was very happy that I saw Rome up close with everything that's going on and I could see how tough it is on the players. It's going to be very, very stressful now, even more stressful than it was here. But that's a part of it. I'm going to look forward to it.”